Feds bust Vallejo/Benicia area group trafficking marijuana to other states; arrest 17

Several locals are among 18 charged in a nationwide drug-smuggling ring centered in the Vallejo/Benicia area, and one Vallejo man remains a fugitive, federal authorities announced.

Marvin Powers, Jr., 39, of Vallejo remains at large after coordinated arrests Thursday netted 17 of the alleged marijuana smugglers, according to Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

"We have dismantled a significant, national drug ring that allegedly made millions trafficking marijuana and recruited college athletes to target fellow students for drug sales," MacBride said in a statement.

Vallejo police assisted in the local arrest, department spokesman Sgt. Jeff Bassett said Monday. Bassett acknowledged the FBI was in town last week, though he couldn't confirm the visit was related to the case.

According to court documents, the ring was led by 46-year-old Vallejo resident Anthony Guidry, Sr.

Guidry runs a firm called "Daddy's Girl Handyman" out of his Benicia home on Carolina Street, allegedly as a front for him to launder illicit drug proceeds and appear to have legitimate income, authorities say. A phone number listed for the business is not a working number.

Guidry is accused of using drug money to buy multiple homes, vehicles and a boat. In a two-year period, investigators allege he received deposits of nearly $1 million into various bank accounts that Guidry controlled.

Guidry recently moved into a Vallejo home and was arrested there on Thursday, Peter Carr of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Virginia said Monday.

The California residents were charged in federal court in Virginia with allegedly being part of an operation smuggling high-quality marijuana from Northern California to mid-level dealers in various states. They eventually will be extradited to Virginia, Carr said. No bail has been set.

According to court documents, Guidry allegedly trained and worked with three other men as wholesale marijuana dealers. The men allegedly either grew or bought the pot in California, the documents note.

The dealers allegedly took orders for various types of marijuana and shipped it to suppliers in a dozen states.

Guidry is alleged to have tried expanding the operation, recruiting distributors from all walks of life, including college athletes who were to open distribution centers in cities and on college campuses in Virginia, Georgia, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, authorities said.

The complaint says many of the conspirators were armed while conducting drug sales and used weapons and violence to intimidate those who failed to pay, including targeting debtors' young children.

The original court documents contain the following transcribed taped conversation between Guidry and another conspirator. The conversation took place in April, and was meant to instruct the other conspirator in how to deal with a situation, Carr said.

"I went to Oakland and picked up one of my little nephews, who was 9, and I dropped him off at the school. And I told him, 'You go over there and stomp the s--t out of that little 7-year-old girl right there.' And that's what he did," it says.

In response to the suggestion that this was "mean," Guidry replied, "You know what? We were talking thirty, $40,000 back in the early nineties."

Court records indicate Guidry, who remains in custody, controls more than 20 bank accounts used to deposit proceeds from marijuana sales in various states, Carr said.

To avoid detection, Guidry allegedly also hired people to fly around the country and pick up bulk cash payments, according to the complaint.

According to the affidavit, Guidry would obtain wholesale marijuana for as little as $1,200 a pound and sell it for as much as $5,000 per pound.

Law enforcement seized 71 pounds of marijuana and $161,980 in money orders from the conspirators before the arrests, the documents show.

Court records show the ring was uncovered through the Jan. 12, 2010 arrest in Alexandria, Va. of Moataz Mohammad Masoud, also known as "Mo," "Fat Mo," or "Gyp," 26, of Alexandria.

While detained on marijuana distribution charges, court documents state Masoud phoned other conspirators to ensure his operation continued. This generated further investigation which resulted in last week's charges, authorities said.

Those arrested have been charged with conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, which carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. Additional charges carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment may also be filed against certain co-conspirators, documents note.